CECE Research Team Kicks-off Climate Corps Pilot with Visits to Vermont and California
This fall, the research team working on the Addressing Climate Change Through Our Nation’s Service Corps Project visited three Climate Corps sites as part of a pilot to study the ways their programs are connecting climate-interested young people and embedding in communities. At each site, Principal Investigator Dana R. Fisher presented a curriculum on the 4R’s of Climate Work and then evaluated the effectiveness of the curriculum. Afterwards, the team held a focus group with the corps members to learn more about their backgrounds, motivations for serving, and plans post-service.
In October, the research team kicked off the pilots with the trip to Vermont where they first visited ECO AmeriCorps during a full-group training day in Danby, VT. ECO AmeriCorps members were asked about their interests and paths to participating in the climate corps, their plans post-service including government work or grad school, and whether being in that program had changed their assumptions about climate change.
The following day, the research team traveled to Montpelier, VT to meet with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) at their training day at the Greenway Institute. At this site, corps members were asked about their interests and path to service, as well as their future plans after serving.
In November, the team conducted a site visit in San Luis Obispo, CA where they met with members of the California Conservation Corps’ Watershed Stewards Program. During the focus groups in California, corps members were also asked about their motivations for joining the program, whether they were motivated by climate specifically, as well as to reflect on how the 2024 election had affected the perspectives on their service.
